Eye Surgery Stands Between Romero Hall and the Military

Without his glasses, Romero Hall is legally blind. The 25-year-old Polk resident wants to join the U.S. Army but needs corrective eye surgery before he will be eligible to serve.

By ELVIA MALAGONTHE LEDGER

BARTOW | Bouncing between relatives in Bartow and Winter Haven, Romero Hall waits for the chance that could change his life.Several thousand dollars and one eye surgery stand between him and the U.S. Army, a place he hopes will add structure and discipline to his life.Hall, 25, and his brother, Berchell Godbolt, decided to join the Army and went to enlist. They met requirements ranging from drug tests to physical standards.But there was a hitch. Romero Hall has always used contact lenses and had problems with his vision, but he didn't realize that would prevent him from joining the military. Now, Goldbolt is now stationed in Fort Stewart in Georgia, and his brother is still waiting in Polk County. Army recruiters told him he couldn't join because his vision was too bad and told him to consider a corrective eye surgery.Still determined to enlist, Hall called area doctors and found the TLC Tampa LASIK center, which agreed to do a corrective eye procedure called Visian ICL Procedure. For months, more than $10,000 stopped him from having the surgery."I was trying to find a way to get money," he said. "I was trying to do everything on my own."Kim Nesbit, who lives in Winter Haven, has known Hall's family for years and told him in March to share his story with the doctors and ask if there were any available discounts. His surgeon, clinic and a lens company agreed to cover some of the costs associated with the surgery. That left him with the responsibility for more than $4,000.Hall was referred to The Ledger's Newspaper with a Heart program, which agreed to pay for the remaining expenses. He is scheduled to have the surgery on Dec. 5 and then immediately plans to go to the Winter Haven military enlistment office."I feel like it's the best time. I've been trying to get in for over a year," he said. "It's finally starting to come together."

ROCKY BEGINNINGSHall has been determined to join the Army since he was in his teens, which were often marked by instability and uncertainty. He and his brothers entered the foster care system in Polk County when he was 11 years old. Nesbit estimates Hall stumbled through a dozen foster homes.Hall said he initially was placed into foster homes with his siblings, but they were slowly separated into different homes. During those years, Hall said he had behavioral problems. One of his biological aunts helped move him to Georgia, where he enrolled at Southwest Georgia Technical College and received his diploma.He had a 3-year-old daughter, Sha'lerya, who lives in Georgia. He decided to move to Polk County because he knew he had a stronger support system here.Once he moved back to the area, he enrolled at Polk State College. After completing a year, he decided school wasn't for him and finished a program to become an electrical technician through Heartland for Children.Then, about a year ago, he began the process to enlist in the Army. If the surgery corrects his vision, Hall said he wants to make a career out of serving in the Army and eventually wants to become a police officer.Nesbit said the military would give Hall much more than a career. "He grew up in foster care. He bounced around all over the place," she said. "The military is an organization that provides a family atmosphere, and he needs that."She met Hall and his siblings when they first entered foster care in Polk County and has kept in contact with them. She said the military can give Hall the structure he needs to succeed. "He wants to serve his country and do the right thing," she said. "But he just doesn't know how."

HOPEFUL FUTUREHall has kept a countdown going on his Facebook waiting for the day of his surgery."35 days until I will be able to see normally if God's will ... can't wait," he wrote Oct. 31 on Facebook.In preparation for the surgery, doctors have shot lasers into his eyes and given him eye drops to use. The procedure isn't expected to last long and will consist of sliding special contacts into his eye.Nesbit has already signed up to serve as his designated driver during the surgery.The next day, he will visit the surgeon for a checkup and then plans to go to the U.S. Army enlistment office.If he still isn't able to enlist in the Army, Hall said he will reconsider going to school. Nesbit said she is hopeful about the surgery."He's a good kid," she said. "This will help him a lot."

[ Elvia Malagon can be reached at elvia.malagon@theledger.com or 863-802-7550. Her Twitter is @ledger911. ]